The Nordic Invasion

From 1964 to 1966, a wave of young british bands came to the US and had a big impact on the style and development of rock and roll music.  Led by The Beatles, the invasion included The Kinks, The Stones, The Animals, and a host of other influential acts.

I am wondering if we are witnessing a similar, maybe less significant, wave with bands and artists from the nordic region right now.

I began to pay attention to this part of the world when I fell for Bettie Serveert, who are from Holland, in the early 90s. I love Bettie Serveert so much that I put Palomine in my Top 50.

Bjork, from Iceland, was also a major musical act in the 90s.

But in the past couple years, it seems as if the amount of quality music coming out of the nordic region is exploding.

Last year’s big find was Sondre Lerche, from Norway.  This guy is a musical genius. I can’t wait for his next record, although rumors are there may be not one, but three in the works.

Then I discovered Sigur Ros.  This band is from Iceland and you can hear the similarities to Bjork, but the music is harder more intense.  I love their new record Takk… and its in heavy rotation and also on my top ten for 2005 list.

And then Jessica found The Shout Out Louds, from Sweden.  Their record, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff may be the most played record of the moment in our house as everyone loves it.  They sound a lot like The Killers but have a more "garage" sound.

So we are into our nordic invasion and are enjoying it.  If you know of other nordic artists we should be checking out, let us know.